The Best Way to Clean Glass Surfaces for the Holidays

With the holiday season approaching, it’s likely that you will soon be welcoming friends and family into your home for festive dinners and celebrations. That means you’ll probably want your house to be sparkling from top to bottom.

One area that’s easily overlooked during the chaos of holiday preparations is your glass surfaces. The last thing you want is for your clean home to be marred by smears on your glass tabletops and windows, so it’s important learn the best way to clean glass for a streak-free shine.

DIY Streak-Free Window Cleaner

The best way to clean glass windows is to use a streak-free window cleaner. Naturally, you can use a commercial cleaner. However, some store-bought solutions actually leave residue behind.

Solution 1: Equal parts distilled white vinegar and water

Solution 2: Two tablespoons of ammonia and two quarts of warm water

Solution 3: Two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid and two quarts of water

Choose your solution, mix it in a large spray bottle and get ready to clean.

How to Clean Glass Windows and Tabletops

Once you’ve prepared your steak-free window cleaner, you need to decide which cleaning tool you’ll be working with. It may seem natural to reach for a squeegee, but that method requires finesse, as well as fancy wrist action. The best way to clean glass windows or tabletops is by using either a coffee filter or a microfiber cloth. In the end, using microfiber cloths or coffee filters is a bit easier and yields more or less the same streak-free shine a properly wielded squeegee would.

To clean glass, simply mist your tabletop or windows with your homemade cleaning solution. For windows, you want to start at the top and work your way down to the bottom. After you mist, gently wipe the solution from the glass with your coffee filter or microfiber cloth. If your filter or cloth wipes get too damp, switch them out for fresh wipes. You’ll be able to tell when you need a new wipe because you’ll start to see streaking.

When it comes to washing windows and other glass surfaces, moderation is key. If you spray too much of your cleaning solution on the glass, you’re going to get streaks. This is because the overspray of solution has to go somewhere, and your coffee filter or microfiber cloth won’t be able to absorb all of the liquid. As a result, you’ll end up smearing the cleaning solution — along with dirt and dust — all over the window, rather than wiping it away from the glass.

After you’ve finished, give windows and glass surfaces a once over to be certain there aren’t any remaining smudges. If there are, don’t panic. You can quickly buff them out using a dry coffee filter or microfiber cloth.

That’s all there is to figuring out the best way to clean glass surfaces and windows. With a little bit of elbow grease, you’ll be able to impress holiday guests with your impeccable housekeeping.